D.J. Pettway amassed 16 sacks during his junior season at Pensacola Catholic High School (Rivals.com photo).TUSCALOOSA -- D.J. Pettway arrived as Pensacola's Catholic High School as a talented quarterback - all 6-foot, 220 pounds of him.

At first, Pettway wanted to play quarterback in high school. But during those first few days, Seibert sat down with Pettway and his father, saying that he could be a first-year varsity contributor.

But it would have to be as a defensive end, not a quarterback.

"They agreed to that," Seibert said, "said it was a good idea. ... We put him on the field, and he's been a dominant performer ever since."

Fresh off an 85-tackle, 16-sack junior season, Pettway is now about 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds and has one remaining season in high school. But first, there was a big decision for the big man to get out of the way.

Pettway committed Monday morning to Alabama head coach Nick Saban, becoming the 10th prep commitment - and fourth in the past three days -- toward a 2011 Crimson Tide signing class that is already rounding in shape to be one of the nation's best.

There are few bigger pieces than Pettway, whose athletic gifts have him being viewed as a can't-miss prospect at the next level. Rivals.com analyst Jamie Newberg described Pettway as "one of the most coveted defensive line prospects in the country."

Pettway held scholarship offers from a long list of schools across the country, but made a decision this past weekend to sign with Alabama next February.

"I've been an (Alabama) fan all my life, so it wasn't really that hard," Pettway told the Pensacola News-Journal. "I went up there, and it felt like home."

Pettway has played some defensive tackle at Catholic but projects in college as a defensive end, the focus he'll primarily play as a prep senior.

"He's a tremendous athlete," Seibert said. "He's good got hips, a great first step. He plays very well with his hands, understands leverage, and he's a very, very smart football player. It's very difficult to fool D.J. He studies film. He understands tendencies. He understands offensive linemen, and he's very natural at it."

A relatively quick decision to commit had a lot to do with the Crimson Tide's history, according to Seibert.

"The tradition that the Crimson Tide has is without question one of the biggest influences," Seibert said. "He's been in Tuscaloosa and was very comfortable there, and I think he has a tremendous amount of respect for the coaching staff and feels like the coaching staff can put him in a good position to be not only successful in college but may put him in a position to do some things down the road."